The insurer has released its annual claims figures showing the impact of increased filings and inflation.
State Farm recently released its hail insurance claims data, revealing that there was a $1 billion increase in filings for damage from that cause in 2022 when compared to the figure for 2021.
The insurer has pointed to more claims and rising inflation to explain this massive spike.
Compared to 2021, the number of hail insurance claims rose by nearly 45,000 in 2022. That said, as large as that jump may be, it wasn’t the only factor the insurer identified to explain the huge $1 billion increase in the span of a single year. Inflation and supply chain issues were the other problem. They occurred throughout the country and, when combined with the rise in claims, it caused a tremendous jump in the size of the payouts being made.
The average claim last year was almost $2,000. That represents the highest year-over-year increase ever recorded.
Some states were more affected and made more hail insurance claims than others.
Minnesota was easily the state that faced the highest costs from hailstone damage, at $799 million last year alone. Texas came in at a distant second place at $510 million, followed by Arkansas in third place at $231 million, according to State Farm’s figures. The states that followed were Illinois, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Iowa, Colorado, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
In State Farm’s news release on the subject, it recommended that homeowners take certain steps ahead of the storm season to help make sure that their properties and possessions are protected.
“The best thing to do right now, before spring storm season, is to call your State Farm agent and conduct an annual review of your coverage,” said State Farm Public Affairs Specialist Gina Wilken. “Because of inflation and supply chain issues, some homeowners are seeing a deficit in replacement costs versus levels covered in the insurance policy. After a catastrophe is not the time for homeowners to find out they are not covered to meet their needs.”
Making sure to prepare is important for residents of all states, not just those that are in the top ten list for hail insurance claim size.
